Op-Ed: Poker promotions into November

Full Tilt Poker is dead, but before it can be buried, the vultures are queuing up to pick the corpse clean. Meanwhile, other poker sites are offering promotions galore.

The sorry saga of the immolation of Full Tilt Poker continues; first it was accused along with others of being a money laundering scheme as its domain was seized by the FBI and Department of Justice on Black Friday. Latterly, it has been accused of being a Ponzi scheme. Now, a class action law suit has been filed against it on behalf of - get this - around 200,000 (former) customers. Read all abaht it here.

This is obviously going to run and run, not that it hasn't already; it remains to be seen how many of those around 200,000 players have put their names to this suit, or are even aware of its existence, but it doesn't take a mathematician or even the dumbest fish at the poker table to realise that by the time the lawyers have finished, and the DoJ and the IRS, there ain't gonna be too much left for anybody. Now for some good news, unless you are an American!

Outside of the USA, the poker game goes on, and many sites both major and minor are offering all manner of promotions. The first thing to remember is that if you haven't yet signed up with a particular poker site, make sure you sign up through an affiliate and get rakeback, ie paid to play. The biggest poker affiliate in the world is the UK-based RakeTheRake. You can sign up with all the major sites except Poker Stars through RTR. Use this link.

Party Poker is currently offering a Welcome Bonus of up to $500. It has to be said you will have to play some mega-poker to earn that, but this site also runs a fair number of freerolls including qualifiers for live events and bankroll booster tournaments. The chances of you winning big time are extremely slim, but if there is one thing better than a lottery ticket it is a free lottery ticket.

Ladbrokes is about the only place on the web you can play Pot Limit Razz, but as usual, No Limit Hold 'Em is the biggest game in town, and this site is currently running the “European Championships of Single Table Tournaments”, in their own words: “Ladbrokes Poker is proud to announce ECOSTT which will take place between 17 to 20 November 2011 at the Portomaso Casino in Malta.”

William Hill is offering an even bigger new player bonus than Party Poker, but again, you will have to play massive amounts to qualify for the full amount. Other promotions include a first deposit freeroll, special birthday tournaments, and currently a chance to qualify on-line for the Irish Open. Satellites begin October 30. Like Ladbrokes, William Hill is a major high street bookmaker, so you can back a horse or a dog or two when you get tired of the tables!

Finally, if you have nothing better than to play freerolls all day, there are a number of poker sites that track them, including this dedicated freeroll monitor.

This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com